According to the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria in its executive summary of the economic review of the second half of 2020, the decline in investment is mainly attributed to the depressing effects of COVID-19.
The report stated: “Estimated cumulative manufacturing investment from 2013 to the second half of 2020 was N5.73 trillion based on data generated from surveys conducted by MAN over the period. “It also declined by N5.64 billion or 9.1 per cent when compared with N62.08 billion achieved in the 1st half of the year. Manufacturing investment totalled N118.52 billion in 2020 as against N496.11 billion achieved in 2019. Manufacturing investment declined in the period following the depressing fallouts from COVID-19 that gave no impetus for new investments in the sector.”
According to the trade body, such a low level was last seen in the 1990s and is more than 30 per cent below the investment trough that followed the 2008-2009 global financial crisis.Despite projections for the global economy to recover in 2021 – albeit hesitant and uneven – UNCTAD expects FDI flows to remain weak due to uncertainty over the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic. The organisation had projected a five-10 per cent FDI slide in 2021 in last year’s World Investment Report.